6 December 2025

• History: 6 December marks 70 years since B.R. Ambedkar's death. His contributions to the Constitution, RBI and the anti-caste movement are reviewed.
• Monetary policy: RBI announces a Rs 1 trillion Open Market Operation and a $5 billion dollar-rupee swap to inject liquidity.
• Currency: The rupee breaches Rs 89 per dollar. IMF reclassifies India's exchange rate regime.
• Defence: Exercise Harimau Shakti between India and Malaysia concludes.
• UNESCO: India hosts the 20th UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee meeting at Red Fort, Delhi.

GS area: GS I - Modern India; Social reform; GS II - Constitution

6 December marks 70 years since B.R. Ambedkar's death. Mahaparinirvan Diwas is observed as a day of remembrance across India.

• Constitutional role: Ambedkar chaired the Drafting Committee of the Constituent Assembly. He is the principal architect of the Constitution of India.
• Mahad Satyagraha 1927: Led the campaign for Dalits to access the Chavdar Tank public water source in Mahad, Maharashtra. He also publicly burned the Manusmriti on 25 December 1927.
• Poona Pact 1932: Signed with Gandhi to replace separate electorates for Dalits (offered by the British under the Communal Award) with reserved seats in joint electorates.
• Role at RBI: Ambedkar's 1923 book "The Problem of the Rupee: Its Origin and Its Solution" provided the intellectual framework that informed the Reserve Bank of India's founding in 1934. He is credited as a key intellectual contributor to its creation.
• Buddhist conversion: On 14 October 1956 Ambedkar converted to Buddhism at Nagpur along with more than 5 lakh followers.
• Bharat Ratna: Awarded posthumously in 1990.
• Swaraj: Ambedkar's insistence on social democracy as a precondition for political freedom shaped the constitutional framework.

Static linkage: Constituent Assembly; Fundamental Rights; Ambedkar's economic thought

GS area: GS II - Fundamental rights; Digital governance

Digital constitutionalism refers to the application of constitutional rights principles to digital spaces.

• Privacy as a fundamental right: The Supreme Court in Justice K.S. Puttaswamy v Union of India (2017) unanimously held that privacy is a fundamental right under Article 21.
• Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023: India's first comprehensive data protection law. It establishes rights of data principals, obligations of data fiduciaries and a Data Protection Board.
• Sanchar Saathi rollback: Versions of the Sanchar Saathi framework that involved broad location and activity tracking were revised following civil society concerns about surveillance.
• Proposed Digital Rights Commission: Advocates have called for an independent body to adjudicate digital rights violations outside the DPDP Act framework.
• Tension: The government frames digital ID and data collection as welfare delivery infrastructure. Critics frame the same systems as surveillance infrastructure.

Static linkage: Article 21; Puttaswamy judgment; DPDP Act 2023

GS area: GS II - India's foreign policy

The 2025 summit marks 25 years of the annual summit mechanism (2000 to 2025).

• Programme 2030: Both sides adopted the Programme 2030 roadmap covering trade, technology, energy and connectivity.
• Currency alternatives: India and Russia are negotiating trade settlement in national currencies (the Indian Rupee and the Russian Ruble) and exploring CBDC-based systems.
• Corridors active: INSTC (International North-South Transport Corridor) through Iran and the Arctic Northern Sea Route through Russian waters.
• UNSC support: Russia has backed India's claim to a permanent seat on the UN Security Council.
• Context: Russia-Ukraine war has deepened India-Russia energy trade, with India importing substantially more discounted Russian crude oil.

Static linkage: India-Russia bilateral; UNSC reform; INSTC

GS area: GS II - Regulatory bodies; GS III - Civil aviation

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation granted a one-time exemption to IndiGo from the new Flight Duty Time Limitations rules.

• Establishment: DGCA was established in 1927 under the then-colonial Aircraft Act.
• Statutory body: Became a statutory body in 2020 under the Aircraft Act 2020, which replaced the 1934 Act.
• Parent ministry: Ministry of Civil Aviation.
• Functions: Issues licences to pilots and aircraft; certifies aircraft airworthiness; regulates civil air transport routes; enforces safety standards.
• FDTL exemption: The temporary exemption to IndiGo was granted to prevent large-scale passenger disruption while the airline builds crew reserves. Critics argued it undermined the safety rationale for the new rules.

Static linkage: DGCA; Civil aviation policy; FDTL rules

GS area: GS III - Monetary policy; RBI instruments

The Reserve Bank of India announced a Rs 1 trillion Open Market Operation purchase of government securities along with a $5 billion dollar-rupee swap.

• What an OMO is: The RBI buys or sells government securities in the open market to adjust liquidity. Buying securities injects rupee liquidity into the banking system.
• Purpose: The rupee has weakened past Rs 89 per dollar. Banks are holding fewer surplus rupees. The OMO and swap together aim to inject durable liquidity.
• Dollar-rupee swap: The RBI provides dollars to banks and receives rupees. This supports the rupee and injects domestic liquidity simultaneously.
• Effect on banks: Banks sell government bonds to the RBI and receive cash, which they can then lend.
• Distinction from CRR/SLR: OMOs are market operations that affect liquidity without changing the mandatory reserve ratios.

Static linkage: RBI monetary policy instruments; Liquidity management; Exchange rate

GS area: GS III - Defence; Bilateral relations

India and Malaysia conducted the 5th edition of Exercise Harimau Shakti in 2025.

• Participating forces: India deployed troops from the Dogra Regiment. Malaysia fielded its army contingent.
• Venue: Mahajan Field Firing Range, Rajasthan.
• Focus: Counter-insurgency operations and United Nations peacekeeping scenarios.
• Harimau Shakti history: The exercise began in 2012. It alternates between India and Malaysia.
• India-Malaysia ties: Malaysia is a significant trade partner and source of palm oil imports for India.

Static linkage: Defence diplomacy; Joint exercises; India-ASEAN relations

GS area: GS I - Culture; GS II - International organisations

India hosted the 20th session of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage at the Red Fort, New Delhi.

• Committee composition: 24 member states elected by the UNESCO General Assembly.
• Functions: Examines nominations to the UNESCO Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage, the Urgent Safeguarding List and the Register of Best Safeguarding Practices.
• India's ICH: India has 15 elements on the UNESCO Representative List. Yoga (2016) and Vedic chanting (2008) are among the best-known.
• Intangible vs tangible heritage: Intangible cultural heritage covers oral traditions, performing arts, social practices, rituals, festive events, knowledge about nature and traditional craftsmanship. It contrasts with monuments and sites under the World Heritage Convention.
• Red Fort as venue: Itself a UNESCO World Heritage Site, listed in 2007.

Static linkage: UNESCO; Intangible cultural heritage; India's cultural diplomacy

GS area: GS II - Health; International disease elimination

Niger became the first African country to eliminate onchocerciasis (river blindness) as a public health problem.

• Causative agent: The filarial worm Onchocerca volvulus, transmitted by blackfly bites near fast-flowing rivers.
• Disease burden: 99 per cent of cases occur in sub-Saharan Africa.
• Treatment: Ivermectin (brand name: Mectizan), donated by Merck for 30 years. Mass drug administration for 10 to 15 years is required to eliminate the disease.
• Mechanism of blindness: The worm's microfilariae accumulate in the eyes and skin, causing progressive visual impairment and intense itching.
• WHO target: Eliminate onchocerciasis as a public health problem in 12 priority African countries by 2030 under the NTD road map.
• NTD context: Onchocerciasis is a neglected tropical disease. Niger's achievement is a model for the broader NTD elimination agenda.

Static linkage: Neglected tropical diseases; WHO elimination targets; Global health

GS area: GS III - Environment; International conventions

The Barcelona Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment and the Coastal Region of the Mediterranean was adopted in 1976.

• Original adoption: 16 February 1976 at Barcelona.
• Renamed: In 1995, the convention was renamed to its current form and expanded in scope.
• Coverage: The Mediterranean Sea and coastal zones of the 21 Mediterranean states.
• Connection to the Atlantic: The Mediterranean connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the Strait of Gibraltar.
• Protocols: Seven protocols cover issues including land-based pollution, dumping at sea, special protected areas, offshore activities and hazardous waste.
• UPSC relevance: The convention is the regional seas agreement under UNEP for the Mediterranean.

Static linkage: International environmental conventions; Mediterranean geography; UNEP regional seas programme

GS area: GS III - Economy; External sector

The rupee broke through Rs 89 per dollar in early December 2025.

• IMF classification change: The IMF reclassified India's exchange rate regime from "floating" to "stabilised arrangement." This means the IMF's assessment is that the RBI actively manages the rupee within a narrow band rather than allowing free float.
• NEER and REER: The Nominal Effective Exchange Rate (NEER) has been declining since 2023. The Real Effective Exchange Rate (REER) fell below 2018-19 levels, making Indian exports relatively competitive but imports more expensive.
• Drivers of depreciation: Capital outflows driven by FPI selling, a widening trade deficit and a stronger US dollar.
• RBI tools: Foreign exchange intervention, OMOs and the NRI deposit schemes (FCNR deposits) to attract hard currency inflows.

Static linkage: Exchange rate regimes; RBI forex management; Balance of payments

• Ambedkar and the RBI: Ambedkar's doctoral thesis at LSE, later published as "The Problem of the Rupee," advocated for a central bank based on gold standards. The thesis is cited as a foundational input to the RBI Act 1934.